Vacancy rates down in the capital, rent up: CMHC

Vacancy rates in the capital fell slightly in April compared with the same month last year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says.

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In its spring 2014 rental market report, the CMHC says Ottawa’s vacancy rate was down 0.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent, while the average rental price of a two-bedroom unit was up $6 to $1,136.

The city’s vacancy rate is 10th out of the 16 Ontario cities measured, while the rental price trails only Toronto’s average of $1,241.

Ottawa’s vacancy rate was also above the national rate of 2.7 per cent, which was unchanged from last year.

The country’s highest average two-bedroom rental rate is in Vancouver at $1,274, while Sherbrooke, Que., brings up the rear at $594.

"The stability of the national vacancy rate is due to supply and demand factors," CMHC’s manager of economic and housing analysis Bruno Duhamel said in a statement. “Demand for rental housing continues to be supported by population gains from net migration and stable employment levels for young workers aged 20 to 24".